M23 rebels say they have taken control of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, although the government has denied this.
Residents shared videos of M23 rebels patrolling Goma’s main streets following a lightning advance against the Congolese army on Sunday that saw tens of thousands of people fleeing neighbouring towns.
After hours of gunfire and explosions, the streets of Goma – home to more than a million people – are now quiet, according to local media. It comes hours after DR Congo’s foreign minister accused neighbouring Rwanda of declaring war by sending its troops over the border to support the M23.
Rwanda does not deny backing the M23 but accuses the Congolese authorities of supporting militias trying to topple the government in Kigali.
Kenya has called for a ceasefire and announced that the DR Congo and Rwandan presidents will attend an emergency regional summit in the next two days.
Kenyan President William Ruto, the current chair of the East African Community, said it was incumbent on regional leaders to help facilitate a peaceful solution to the conflict.
The M23 group has taken control of vast parts of mineral-rich eastern DR Congo since 2021. In the past few weeks, the group has been advancing swiftly toward Goma amid intense fighting.
Since the start of 2025, more than 400,000 people have been forced from their homes in the provinces of North and South Kivu, near the border with Rwanda, according to the UN’s refugee agency.
The UN has said that key roads surrounding Goma are blocked, and the city’s airport can no longer be used for evacuation and humanitarian efforts.
